A Kitchen Renovation to Remind You That Nooks Are Always the Answer

“It’s important to know what you like as a homeowner, what makes you comfortable and relaxed,” says the designer. Here, a patterned rug, her client’s own find, contributes texture and character.Photo: Belathée Photography

According to Seattle-based designer Katie Hackworth, the Ravenna kitchen she’d been hired to renovate hadn’t been touched since the early 1960s. It was dark. It lacked decent counter space. Its strawberry-printed wallpaper, though enduringly cheerful, was a relic of another era. Further, while it wasn’t tiny, it was by no means sprawling—and its dim, cramped quarters were not sufficient to meet the needs of a modern family with two young boys. “The original kitchen didn’t take advantage of two of the four walls, and a large peninsula divided the room in half,” Hackworth says. “Not very efficient, space-wise.” Aside from inconvenience, the layout also presented physical hazards, with the stove situated next to a dining room entryway heavily trafficked by little feet.

Hackworth and her clients shared a common vision, prioritizing timeless design, high-quality materials, rich earth tones, and an appreciation for “beauty in simplicity.”

Tasked with redesigning the kitchen to feel “spacious but warm, elegant but casual,” Hackworth addressed each of the room’s setbacks head-on. To add brightness (”natural light is everything in a kitchen,” the designer says), she expanded its three main windows to their maximum height, incorporated a glass mudroom door, and traded out an excess of upper cabinetry for open shelving. An assortment of fixtures from Circa Lighting and the Urban Electric Co. were incorporated throughout.

“Don’t be afraid to take elements from the past and incorporate them into a modern space—it’s a welcome change from the cookie-cutter kitchens we see too often,” says Hackworth, who sourced the vintage art pictured here from Big Daddy’s Antiques.

To maximize space and efficiency, pull-out drawers were added to the lower cabinetry. But the kitchen’s crowning, central touch—and ultimate means for making the most of the space—is its snug breakfast nook, complete with oak benches and a Calacatta marble tabletop. “We allowed just enough room to keep your head safe from injury and added upper cabinet storage," says Hackworth. "The overall depth was just enough to sit a family of four comfortably, but nothing more." As for the dated wallpaper, she settled on a wash of creamy white instead (Benjamin Moore’s Crisp Linen, to be exact), offset by a pale green (Plantation) on the upper hutch. Additional warmth came courtesy of stained wood seating and cabinet doors. “The client couldn't be happier with the finished result,” says Hackworth, who shares the sentiment. “We became friends along the way—I’m looking forward to catching up over coffee in that cozy nook.”

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